ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan’s top and middle order batters’ responsible approach guided the team to a 7-wicket win Against Sri Lanka in the ICC World Cup contest played at Pune, India, on Monday.
Despite losing the wicket of in-form Gurbaz on zero, Ibrahim Zadran, Rehmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, and Omarzi all contributed crucial runs for the side to register an easy win against Sri Lanka. After beating the defending champions England and then Pakistan, this was the 3rd win for Afghanistan in the mega event while getting 6 points to secure a place in the point table ahead of Pakistan, England, Bangladesh etc.
While chasing the target of 242 to win, Afghanistan lost its in-form opener, Gurbaz, in the very first over for a duck by Madushanka. However, Man of the match of the previous game against Pakistan and number third batter Rehmat Shah accompanied Ibrahim Zadran on the crease and managed to dilute the early pressure put by the Sri Lankan pace attack. Both managed to stay on the crease in the first and second powerplay and also maintained the required run-rate. They added a crucial 73 runs partnership for the team.
However, in the 17th over, Madushanka struck once again and dismissed Ibrahim Zadran on 39 on a bouncer. Zadran was replaced by the skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi, who along with Rehmat, pushed the total ahead. Like the previous game, Rehmat played a superb inning and completed his half-century. He became a threat for Sri Lanka as he and Shahdi contributed 58 runs partnership for the side.
On the last ball of the 28th over, Rajitha dismissed Rehmat Shah on 62 to bring some relief for the team. At that stage, Afghanistan were 131 for three while requiring 111 in 22 overs. Rehmat was replaced by the number-five batter and all-rounder Azmatullah Omrzai. Both further consolidated the innings to dominate Sri Lankan bowlers. Shahidi (58) played a captain inning, and Omarzai (73) accompanied him well to take their side close to the target. Omarzai’s inning included 3 sixes and six boundaries.
Both completed terrific half-centuries, remained unbeaten, and took the game away from Sri Lanka while contributing 100-plus runs partnership for the team. Afghanistan won the match by 7 wickets in the 46th over to register their 3rd victory in the ICC World Cup after beating England and Pakistan in the previous matches.
From Sri Lanka, Madushanka took 2 wickets while Rajitha got one wicket. Other bowlers remained wicketless.
Sri Lanka Batting Against Afghanistan
Earlier, after winning the toss, Afghanistan invited Sri Lanka to bat first. Sri Lankan openers Pathum Nissanka and Dimuth Karunaratne took a cautious start but lost the first wicket on 22 runs in the 6th over when Fazal Haq Farooqi dismissed Dimuth Karunaratne as leg before the wicket. Dimuth was replaced by the skipper Kusal Mendis, who along with Nissanka, pushed the scoreboard ahead. Both contributed 62 runs partnership for the team; however, in the 19th over, Nissanka was removed on 46.
After losing two wickets on 84, Sri Lanka were still in a better position as Nissanka was replaced by the in-form Sadeera Samarawickrama, who along with Kusal Mendis, consolidated the inning further. However, Afghanistan turned the momentum when they broke the 50-run partnership between the two batters and removed the skipper on 39. After Mendis Sadeera also went for 36 in the 30th over when the total score reached 139.
After the dismissal of the two set batters, the Sri Lankan batting line came under pressure and lost further quick wickets due to the splendid spill of Mujeeba and Rashid. They not only grabbed the wicket but also checked Sri Lankan runs flow.
A couple of overs later, Rashid Khan bowled out De Silva on 14. In the 39th over, Asalanka was dismissed on 22. In the next over, when the score reached 185, Dushmantha Chameera got run out on 1 run. Meanwhile, Angelo Mathews and number nine batter Maheesh Theekshana took time on the crease and added some crucial runs to the scoreboard. They contributed 45 45-run partnership for the team before Theekshana was bowled by Farooqi on 29. At the stage, Sri Lanka were 230 for 9 in 47 overs. In the 49th over, Mathews was dismissed by Farooqi on 23 with a total score of 239. In the last over, Sri Lanka were all out on 241.
From Afghanistan, Fazalhaq Farooqi was the most successful bowler, taking 4 wickets. Mujeeb got 2 wickets, while Rashid Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, and Azmatullah Omarzai grabbed one wicket each.
Afghanistan Team
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmat Shah, Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil †, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi
Sri Lanka Team
Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis (c)†, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Dushmantha Chameera and Dilshan Madushanka
